Nemtsov was unable to
finish the report himself as he was shot dead in Moscow on the
night of February 27-28, 2015. The fact that he had been working
on the report was only revealed by his colleagues after his
death.

The report alleges that at least 150 Russian soldiers were killed
in eastern Ukraine in August 2014. A further 70, the report
claims, died in the violent fighting in January and February 2015
near the town of Debaltsevo in the Donetsk Region.

The paper, available at the Open Russia advocacy website, was
compiled from open sources, as well as the information Nemtsov
said he obtained from the killed soldiers' relatives.

The Russian authorities have not yet seen the report. "I am
not familiar with that report, so I cannot comment on it
yet," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media.

Russia has been accused
of sending its soldiers and military hardware to assist the
anti-government fighters in eastern Ukraine almost since the
start of the conflict. The repeated accusations came from Kiev,
Washington and their European allies, but were not backed by any
solid proof.

Moscow has rejected all of the allegations, with Foreign Minister
Lavrov saying that any Russian citizens found fighting in Ukraine
are volunteers acting on their own. This was echoed in January by
the Ukrainian Chief of Staff, who said his forces were not
engaged with the Russian Army.